Backstage Report – Big Issues Holding Up CM Punk’s AEW Return?

We have a big update on CM Punk’s recent talks with AEW about a potential return for the newly-announced Collision show.

On Wednesday, the official announcement was made that AEW Collision will be coming to the TNT Network on Saturday nights beginning on June 17th. In the press release, CM Punk was not mentioned. In the original email sent out by Warner Media, Punk’s name was mentioned but it was later redacted.

Some of you may recall that Ace Steel, who is very good friends with CM Punk, was involved in the All Out 2022 brawl. He was later fired from the company.

According to a report from Fightful Select, Chris Jericho brought up Ace Steel’s name during his recent meeting with CM Punk, with the belief being that everyone working together could relieve some of the tensions between the two sides involved in the fight. While it was talked about, nothing was set in stone.

There was another meeting held between AEW and CM Punk this week, where Punk was directly told that Steel would be able to return and work directly with him. With that being said, it was made very clear that Steel would not be allowed to attend any of the TV tapings.

This reportedly didn’t go over well with Punk, and he disagreed with the decision. It should be noted that there’s no word on how specifically Punk reacted other than the notion that he wasn’t flattered with the idea that his friend wouldn’t be able to attend the TV tapings with him.

As of this writing, there is no word on whether this is the reason CM Punk wasn’t included in the AEW Collision announcement. Additionally, it’s unknown why Warner Bros. Discovery issued a statement noting that Punk is not “affiliated with TNT’s AEW Collision.” It should be noted that CM Punk didn’t want his return to AEW to be announced ahead of time.

Additionally, it was said that there were plans for an AEW crew to film content at Punk’s home on Wednesday. As of this writing, there is no word on whether that took place or not.

And finally, sources in Impact Wrestling stated today that they had some interest in bringing Steel in for a tryout, but they passed on that several weeks ago as they were under the impression that he was headed to AEW or WWE.

The bottom line here is that there are still some issues that need to be resolved and it’s far from confirmed that CM Punk will be featured on the debut episode of AEW Collision.

You can keep up with all your wrestling news right here on eWrestlingNews.com. Or, you can follow us over on our Twitter and Facebook pages.